Vaccine Injury of Maria Shepherd

I was a healthy active person who enjoyed spending time in the outdoors. I only took the vaccine to protect my husband who has COPD and to avoid spreading disease to others in my community - I really believed it was my duty as a citizen.

My reaction to the first dose was mild - just a day or two of flu-like symptoms, so I felt safe taking the booster. Within a few hours of getting the booster I felt like I had the worst flu of my life, and the symptoms lingered for months. I had a sore throat everyday for the next 3 months - and on and off for the next several years. Other symptoms that I still have include brain fog, exercise intolerance, joint pain, dizziness, nerve pain - including "brain zaps" that feel like someone touched my head with an electric cattle prod, debilitating fatigue, and heart palpitations. The heart issues were investigated and diagnosed as super ventricular tachycardia and because they weren't very frequent - no treatment was recommended. I was eventually diagnosed with fibromyalgia. Now - 4 years later the palpitations are nearly constant and I'm on a beta blocker which makes me even more tired and dizzy.

Gabapentin for the nerve and joint pain - it works quite well for me, but I worry about being on it for the rest of my life.
ANS Rewire - an online program for chronic fatigue and fibromyalgia. It really helped me manage the symptoms in a wholistic manor, and taught me to meditate, which really helps keep me calm.
I use a Fitbit to track my activity to make sure I don't "overdo", which can cause all my symptoms to flare up. I used to enjoy exercise so it's important that I can do some exercise but not too much.
Having a positive outlook and a faith community for support also helps a lot!
Magnesium supplements and eating clean food with lots of protein, and keeping sugar and carbs low, has also helped.

Over-focusing on the symptoms or constantly looking for cures or new doctors to see. At some point you have to accept your new life for what it is and try to find ways to manage the symptoms and enjoy the health you have left.

On days you feel awful give yourself the grace to stop pushing and get the rest your body needs. Don't waste your remaining energy being mad about what has happened - try to work toward forgiveness so you can move on. Don't expect the people around you to fully understand what you're going through - they can't - and be grateful for that - you wouldn't want them to go through this. Be happy that they're still healthy. Let them have fun without you and don't make them feel guilty about it.